Written questions by Thornberry.

How much his Department spent on government procurement card purchases (a) above and (b) below £500 net of refunded payments in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

The Department for Business and Trade (formerly Department for International Trade until July 2023) publishes all government procurement card (GPC) spend of over £500. This is available at: a) (i) GPC spend over £500 for 2022:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dit-spending-over-500-for-2022 (ii) GPC spend over £500 for 2023 (Jan to June)https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dit-spending-over-500-for-2023 GPC spend over £500 for 2023 (July and August)https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dbt-spending-over-500 GPC spend over £500 for 2023 (September to December)£57,661.27 b) (i) GPC spend below £500 for 2022:£233,872.67 (ii) GPC spend below £500 for 2023:£380,373.90The guiding policy setting out the requirement to publish GPC transactions over £500 remains in place. Guidance is available to all government departments on gov.uk at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e8b402686650c18ce2cb541/Procurement_Cards_-_Pan_Government_Policy_V4_06042020.pdf The policy clearly sets out the standard that departments must publish to which covers transaction date, transaction reference, merchant name and the amount spent.

What total amount of expenditure was incurred on purchases (a) above £500 and (b) below £500 made on government procurement cards issued by (i) HM Treasury and (ii) HMRC net of any refunded payments in (A) 2022 and (B) 2023.

Procurement cards assist with the reduction in procurement bureaucracy and boost efficiency. Controls are in place that limit purchase types and values in line with individual departmental controls. Departmental expenditure made on government procurement is published on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gpc-spend

How much her Department spent on government procurement card purchases (a) above and (b) below £500 net of refunded payments in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

The department, including its Arm’s Length Bodies and Executive Agencies, spent the following amounts via an Electronic Procurement Card Solution (ePCS), previously known as Government Procurement Card (GPC):(a) Spending above £500The department publishes its ePCS expenditure over £500 data on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-government-procurement-card-gpc-over-500 . The amounts published are consistent with the transparency policy and guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/payment-cards-pan-government-policy .For the calendar years, the total value of the sum of individual ePCS transactions above £500 (and net of individual refund transactions above £500) was (i) £4,665,676.98 in 2022 and (ii) £8,949,303.97 in 2023.There are differences between the terms of this question and the Pan Government Policy. For example, in the treatment of individual transactions made on the same day, refunds and the time periods considered(b) Spending below £500For the calendar years, the total value of the sum of individual ePCS transactions below £500 (and net of individual refund transactions below £500) was (i) £416,010.02 in 2022 and (ii) £630,834.53 in 2023.

How much her Department spent on government procurement card purchases (a) above and (b) below £500 net of refunded payments in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

The total GPC Expenditure for 2022 financial year is £2,815,250.58The total GPC Expenditure for 2023 financial year is £2,333,928.42The expenditure over £500.00 for each financial year is published on the Government website and can be found using the following link:Home Office spending - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

How much her Department spent on government procurement card purchases (a) above and (b) below £500 net of refunded payments in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

The table below shows the government procurement card spend split by transactions above £500 and transactions of £500 and below for the 2022 and 2023 calendar years. Figures are net of refunded payments. 20222023Value of GPC purchases above £500£59,801.33£286,902.08Value of GPC purchases of £500 and below£197,628.68£524,973.18(Source: Smart Data Online) Information about payments above £500 can be found here: DWP and CMG spending over £500 - GOV.UK

Communities and Local Government, how much her Department spent on government procurement card purchases (a) above and (b) below £500 net of refunded payments in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

Details of the department spend on government procurement cards can be found here.

How much her Department spent on government procurement card purchases (a) above and (b) below £500 net of refunded payments in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

Government Procurement Card (GPC) spending over £500 Transparency data for the Ministry of Justice is published on GOV.UK.The published data for both 2022 and 2023 can be found at:MOJ: spending over £500 on a GPC 2022 - GOV.UK.MOJ: spending over £500 on a GPC 2023 - GOV.UK. The total spend for transactions under £500 on GPC is set out in the table below: Total 1 January – 31 December 2022Total 1 January – 31 December 2023Under £500 including refunds28,370,116.7731,559,138.10

How much her Department spent on government procurement card purchases (a) above and (b) below £500 net of refunded payments in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

(a) The value of spend for purchases under £500 made against the Department’s budget using a Government Procurement Card was:(i) in calendar year 2022 - £391,995.07(ii) in calendar year 2023 - £415,715.73 (b) The value of spend for purchases over £500 made against the Department’s budget using a Government Procurement Card was:(i) in calendar year 2022 - £567,711.85(ii) in calendar year 2023 - £633,173.21

Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department spent on government procurement card purchases (a) above and (b) below £500 net of refunded payments in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

(a) Published departmental transaction level data on government procurementcard (GPC) purchases for transactions over £500 in accordance with policy are at the following link: https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/710cd410-0724-4aac-b891-e48e9ec50d66/defra-government-procurement-card-spend-transactions-over-500 The guiding policy setting out the requirement to publish GPC transactions over £500 remains in place. Guidance is available to all government departments on gov.uk at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e8b402686650c18ce2cb541/Procurement_Cards_-_Pan_Government_Policy_V4_06042020.pdf The policy clearly sets out the standard that departments must publish to which coverstransaction date, transaction reference, merchant name and the amount spent. (b) The following table sets out the core department’s expenditure using government procurement cards for transactions under £500 for each of the calendar years stated. 20222023Value of Transactions under £500£356,046£388,007

How much his Department spent on government procurement card purchases (a) above and (b) below £500 net of refunded payments in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was created in February 2023, so no information is held for periods prior to that date. However, even though DESNZ was set up in February 2023, the spilt across GPC cards was not done at that point and was much later, all data prior to 2024 was recorded as BEIS, so we hold no DESNZ data for 2023.

Media and Sport, how much her Department spent on government procurement card purchases (a) above and (b) below £500 net of refunded payments in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

DCMS publishes departmental transaction level data on government procurement card purchases for transactions over £500 in accordance with policy. The guiding policy setting out the requirement to publish GPC transactions over £500 remains in place.Guidance is available to all government departments on gov.uk at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e8b402686650c18ce2cb541/Procurement_Cards_-_Pan_Government_Policy_V4_06042020.pdfThe most recent publication of expenditure via GPCs at DCMS is available using the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-spending-over-500-october-2024 With regards to transactions above £500, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport spent the following (minus refunds) via Government Procurement Cards: i. 2022 - £168,578.66ii. 2023 - £125,104.19 In relation to transactions below £500, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport spent the following (minus refunds) via Government Procurement Cards: i. 2022 - £89,996.23ii. 2023 - £89,065.33

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2024 to Question 4342 on Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, for what reason his Department was unable to meet its target to publish the historic (a) £500 (period November-2022 to July-2024 inclusive) and (b) £25,000 (period June-2022 to July-2024 inclusive) spend files by the end of September; and when he now plans to publish them.

The FCDO publishes its transparency publications in accordance with the cross-Government transparency schedule, determined by Cabinet Office. The September 2024 transparency publication was postponed and therefore the publication of these reports has been delayed.The FCDO is targeting the next cross-Government transparency day to publish the historic files, presently scheduled for the end of November 2024.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 20 March 2023 to Question 165277 on Diplomatic Service: British Nationals Abroad, how many UK nationals were provided with consular assistance after reporting that they had been a victim of (a) domestic violence or abuse and (b) rape or other sexual assault in calendar year 2023.

Between 1 January and 16 October 2023, The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provided consular assistance in 214 new victim of crime cases related to domestic violence and 355 new victim of crime cases related to rape and sexual assault.The FCDO introduced a new consular case management system in October 2023. A transition phase is in progress and therefore we are currently unable to provide the data requested between 16 October 2023 and 31 December 2023.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 20 March 2023 to Question 165278 on Diplomatic Service: British Nationals Abroad, how many UK nationals were provided with consular assistance after reporting that they had been a victim of (a) assault and (b) theft in calendar year 2023.

Between 1 January and 16 October 2023, The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provided consular assistance in 228 new victim of crime cases related to assault and 260 new victim of crime cases related to theft.The FCDO introduced a new consular case management system in October 2023. A transition phase is in progress and therefore we are currently unable to provide the data requested between 16 October 2023 and 31 December 2023.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of Wednesday 6 November to Questions 12253, 12254, 12255 and 12256 on Government Hospitality: Wines and Government Hospitality: Spirits, who the attendees were of the December 2023 Minister-led event to mark the centenary of the Government Wine Cellar.

Pursuant to the answer to questions 12253, 12254, 12255 and 12256 attendees at the December 23 Centenary event were the Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP, Minister responsible for the Government Wine Cellar at that time, Chairs and Members of the Government Wine Committee, past and present, their guests and two officials.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Government Hospitality wine cellar biennial report 2022 to 2024, published on 31 October 2024, for what occasions were three bottles of 1931 Quinta do Noval port consumed in the 2023-24 financial year.

The cognac, wine, and port referenced were consumed at a Minister-led event to mark the centenary of the Government Wine Cellar in December 2023.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Government Hospitality wine cellar biennial report 2022 to 2024, published on 31 October 2024, for what occasion was a half bottle of 1948 Frapin Grande Champagne Cognac consumed in the 2022-23 financial year.

The cognac and wine referred to formed part of the Government Wine Committee's tasting. The Committee, which convenes three times a year, provides advice on the management of the Government Wine Cellar.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Government Hospitality wine cellar biennial report 2022 to 2024, published on 31 October 2024, for what occasions were six bottles of 1988 Echezeaux Domaine Dujac red Burgundy consumed in the 2023-24 financial year.

The cognac, wine, and port referenced were consumed at a Minister-led event to mark the centenary of the Government Wine Cellar in December 2023.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Government Hospitality wine cellar biennial report 2022 to 2024, published on 31 October 2024, for what occasions were four bottles of 1983 Chateau Margaux Bordeaux consumed in the 2023-24 financial year.

The cognac, wine, and port referenced were consumed at a Minister-led event to mark the centenary of the Government Wine Cellar in December 2023.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Government Hospitality wine cellar biennial report 2022 to 2024, published on 31 October 2024, for what occasion was a bottle of 1922 Hine Cognac consumed in the 2023-24 financial year.

The cognac, wine, and port referenced were consumed at a Minister-led event to mark the centenary of the Government Wine Cellar in December 2023.